The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-05-18

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Influence of the speech Of the great SOL
of the greatest missionary.
4 FAT BLACK BOTTLE.
Filled to the Cork With Five Dollar Tres
ury Notes.
There came to light in Macon yester.
day New Years story that would ftly
adorn temperance lecture.
\ bright little girl gave away what
was regarded as pleasing secret. L
happened in this way: The Telegraph
man stumbled into millinery store yes
terday and while waiting to get the at.
tention OF the lady who makes the female
population pretty, idly listened to 4 con-
versation between customer-evidently
the wife OF mechanic-aid the milin,
er. The lady was looking at very
pretty hat for her little girl who stood
at her side with hungry eyes. The hat
was purchased, and the Telegraph man
mentally thought it looked like extrava-
gance for mechanics family to throw
away four dollars and half on little
| girls hat.
As this was the only purchase in which
the child seemed interested, she sided
up to where the Telegraph man was
standing and artlessly said: "We DOT
lots er money now" The reporter here
mentally cursed himself for forgetting
10 buy ticket for the last lottery draw
ing.
ssWhere did you get it, sis?''
ssPapa broke tn bottle?"
'sBroke the bottle?"
s:Essur; th' bottle was JUS as fuller
money as it TODD be, an we's 'ich now
No true reporter can be idle when such
an item as this is in speaking distance,
and it was not more than few minutes
before the child's mother was per-
suaded into telling the following story,
and yet she never dreamed that every
word of it was being iotted down by the
shorthand finger of memory upon the
thumb worn page Of a mentalnote book:
81 have passed through the ordeal Of
a drunkard's wife, and l am too happy
now to so over what and how much L
suffered. Ny husband drank heavily
and often hall of his wages went for
drink. He kept large black bottle Of
whiskey all the time in the house, in
addition to what ne drank in town. On
Christmas Eve night five years ago he
came home drunk, and as something had
gone wrong with him, he was In the
worst kind OF humor. Our Oldest boy
was in the crib very sick with the fever,
and there was not a cent of money IN the
house to buy him the cheapest toy. My
husband had been away from home all
day and being drunk had forgotten all
about his Christmas. l put my husband
to bed and returned to the bed side Of
my dying boy to watch and weep. It
was nearly daybreak when I saw my
precio.s son sinking fast. Rushing out
Of the he use called in Lady friend,
and then aroused my husband. The
sleep had somewhat sobered him, and
as he loved his boy devotedly, he was
soon bending over the little fellow, beg
ging him to say something to him.
''1he little fellow slowly turned his
eyes toward his father and said: I'm
going to die, papa, for I see the angels
beckoning me to come. This is Christ
mas morning, papa; please let me see
what Santa Claus put in my stocking.
My husband went to the mantle and
took down the little stocking. 1t was
empty! He stood still and stared at it
for minute, and God only knows the
agony OF his heart in that short time.
He turned to say, but our boy would
not have heard him had the poor mans
breaking heart allowed to speak. Our
boy vas dead!
"The day before New Years my hus-
band called for the bottle. May God
forgive my feelings at that minute, for l
wished he, too, was dead. obeyed him
mechanically. To my surprise, he took
the bottle in his hands and, pouring the
whisky on tGe ground, said: I will
drink no more; and the money I would
spend for whiskey we will put in this
bottle, and all enjoy the contents, You
can imagine how happy I was. He had
sworn off many times before, but knew
he was in earnest this time. We made a
calculation, and estimated that whiskey
cost him, taking the past year as basis,
on an average of five dollars a week.
You see good deal Of his money went
to pay court fines for drunkenness. Well
it was decided to put five dollars week
in the bottle for tive years, come what
would. The time was out last New
Years day, ard the big black bottle was
broken. Now figure up how many live
dollars that bottle containedl'
sr2wo hundred and sixty
ssY=s, or 81, 900 dollars. But this was
not ail We saved cn ocgh in that time
outside OF the Dotti; 70 buy little
home"
'But are you not afraid in breaking
the bottle your husband will break his
resolution?"
s.No; because We have started another
bottle bank, +" said the lady with a happy
smile.
The husband IS Macon mechanic
well know and enjoys the respect anc
esteem Of all. He says he never knew
how much genuine pleasure there was a
home with his loved ones until he go
sober enough to appreciate it, and to I'll
inste@3 OF empty the fat black bottle.
Over and Owe. .tsaln.
Renc,;tion is sometimes The only way t